Reincarnations
by Bluejay Blaze
Summary: Sometimes, desperate times call out powers no one knew they had. But no matter what life they're living, they'll always be family.


It was chaos, and not of the kind Luffy normally enjoyed. The Kuma clones seemed to be everywhere (though he'd only seen two), fighting different pirate crews, and the yellow admiral seemed to have fixated on Zoro. Taking out one fake Kuma had been hard enough; Luffy's nakama couldn't keep up with this abuse. The admiral was too fast, too strong... Nothing Luffy did had much impact on his body of light. And if he couldn't do something quick, another fake Kuma and the marine with the axe would be joining in the attack.

In another universe, Luffy gave the order to flee. In that universe, the real Kuma scattered the Straw Hats to the four winds, and Luffy was left alone. One universe showed a rubber pirate crushed by guilt, unable to protect his nakama.

Not in this universe. In this universe, Luffy flung himself against the admiral with ever-increasing desperation, pumping his Gear Second harder and harder. His body temperature skyrocketed, head and chest burning. But no matter how hard he pushed himself, Luffy couldn't match the speed of light. The pirate tasted blood in his mouth.

A blinding beam from the admiral skimmed Luffy's cheek, barely a centimeter from taking out his eyes. The rubber man growled incoherently, striking fast and hard, the recoil curling his bones. It did nothing. Rubber fists passed harmlessly through the body of light. But at least the admiral was distracted. Zoro would get a chance to breathe.

Luffy was nothing more than a nuisance to this marine in yellow. It made him angry.

Rubber skin turned rusty red, crackling and starting to steam. Pain lanced through Luffy's head and right shoulder as he was launched into a tree. He bounced back immediately, running on anger and willpower more than anything else.

 _I have to do something! There has to be some way to hit him, to hurt him! He attacked our nakama! Make him pay!_ Luffy's internal monologue took on a voice different from his own, rougher, like a crackling fire. He didn't notice.

A large fist collided with the pirate's chest, letting loose a burning explosion of light. Combined with the heat of his overdone Gear Second, it was enough to light his clothes on fire. Luffy blinked away light spots, wondering if Ace had joined the battle.

There was no orange hat, no freckled grin. Unknown to Luffy, his older brother was suffering in a prison far away.

The fire was, unusually, not painful. It felt pleasantly warm, though it stank to high heaven. Burning rubber and all. Luffy took a deep breath and clutched his aching head, trying to orient himself for another attack. The fire disappeared from his body, inhaled, its flavour making him gag. Even Luffy- not the sharpest sword in the barrel- knew that was wrong. Fire didn't have a taste.

And then he _remembered_.

Strange pictures made their way through Luffy's head, faster than he'd thought possible. Fire. Fighting. Family. He didn't have time to sort through them now. A few, however, looked useful. He quickly picked some out.

A doubly familiar grin split open beneath the shadows of the straw hat. The heat in his body gathered in his right arm, burning an arcane mark into his shoulder. The air crackled, filled with an energy not seen since before the Void Century.

"Gum-gum... Fire dragon's iron fist!"

Fiery claws snapped across to slam into the yellow admiral, actually making contact this time. Burning. Those few who saw the strike froze in shock. A cry of awe rang out.

Of course, fire doesn't do much harm to light. On his own, Luffy's new memories and skills would only have delayed the inevitable. It was a good thing then, that Luffy was never alone. In either lifetime.

*line, line, everywhere a line*

Zoro had never let injuries stop him before. It irked him, having Luffy have to protect him. He was the first mate, the swordsman- it was his job to protect the crew. He couldn't let his captain fight alone. So as Luffy growled and fought, the swordsman forced himself to his feet. Blood seeped through his bandages, a familiar sight. But that was okay- as long as they all survived, Chopper could fix it later.

He was very cold, Zoro noted absently. It made him wonder if his body was going into shock. That could make fighting harder. _Ah, well, I can ask Chopper later._

Only one swords was drawn. It irked him, but he didn't feel strong enough for more. Wado alone would have to do.

The swordsman turned to battle just in time to see his captain's fiery strike. It brought forth a fit of... annoyed nostalgia? Zoro wasn't sure what to call the feeling. Only, it seemed there was something so _right_ about that flaming fist, even though Luffy didn't have fire powers. It was strange. And what was the crackling energy that surrounded Luffy like a cloak.

It made Zoro's heart throb. No, sorry, wrong side. But the right side of his chest was definitely throbbing, getting colder and colder as he walked unsteadily towards the fight. His shirt disappeared, but Zoro was too focused on what he was doing to notice.

He knew as soon as he swung his sword that he would be of little help. Even if blades had an effect on that body of light, the admiral was just too fast. He moved around too much; it was annoying. Instinctively, Zoro called upon the energy around him to hold their opponent still.

"Ice make: shackles!"

That earned a stunned gasp from the admiral, though it only took a few seconds for the man to escape. Zoro growled, images rushing through his head. He shook them off, waiting for another time. For now, he had to protect the crew. But the ice powers felt so familiar, so good. They burned blue in his chest, giving him new energy and marking him with an arcane symbol. He'd worry about the rest- like his sudden desire to punch his captain- later.

*breaking up the scenery, changing my mind*

Despite their rivalry, Sanji would never want Zoro to die. Which would certainly happen if the idiot marimo insisted on fighting while injured like that. Even working together, captain and first mate were getting nowhere fast. Although the new powers were certainly interesting.

 _Well, if Zoro could suddenly do strange things without a Devil Fruit, so can I._

Sanji leapt into the fray, his foot passing through the admiral's head. It did nothing but provide a distraction. Unlike Luffy's fire and Zoro's second attempt at using ice (freezing the admiral in a block from the waist down), Sanji's foot couldn't bypass logia intangibility. The cook glared. There was something he was missing here, something about the energy that rolled off his crewmates in waves.

An explosion of light sent Saji tumbling, pulling handsprings across an icy floor. Apparently Zoro hadn't quite got control of his ability yet. The ice caused a cold burning in one of Sanji's hands. He'd have to get Chopper to look at that later.

Another kick, another throw. Even unable to move, this admiral was strong. Sanji was flung into Luffy, which cushioned the impact as both smashed into a building. Climbing out of the rubble, Sanji's hand closed over a small piece of metal. It felt like... a key?

Luffy rocketed past as Sanji glanced at what he'd found. The key gleamed gold, carved with arcane symbols. It looked like the poneglyph language. But there was something... something _more_ about it too. Sanji had the sudden, irrational urge to put the key in water. He didn't know how this would help them fight the admiral, but somehow he knew it would.

Luckily, there was lots of water around. They were on the Sabaody Archipelago- it was a simple matter of reaching beneath the mangrove roots. As soon as key touched water, Sanji's frost-burned hand glowed pink with an arcane symbol. Images flashed through his head telling him what to say.

"Open, gate of the water bearer! Aquarius!"

A beautiful blue mermaid burst from the water. She looked angry. Her appearance made Sanji's heart pound, but there were more important things at the moment.

"Please milady, my friends and I require all the assistance we can get. This admiral is trying to kill our captain, and apparently the shitty marimo too."

"You interrupted my date!" A wave of salt water crashed over both Sanji and the admiral.

*do this, don't do that, did you see the line?*

Nami wasn't sure what she could do against the admiral, but knowing that her crew was in danger, she had to try something. Her clima-tact didn't seem a useful weapon against light though.

The wave of water provided a welcome opportunity, disabling the admiral's powers for a few moments. She'd have to ask Sanji how he did it. Nami took the opportunity to slam her staff into a momentarily solid head, right at the same moment Luffy shouted something about fire dragons.

The roar made her ears ring, and some of the flames caught her left arm. Nami paused her attacks on the admiral to snarl at her captain. "Watch where you're aiming that thing!"

"Shishishi! Sorry!"

Nami quickly wrapped a bandage around her arm. Luffy's fire had burned a strange symbol beneath her tattoo, a symbol that was slowly turning a matching shade of blue. It hurt.

The navigator dealy wished she had another weapon. She didn't want to damage the clima-tact, which wasn't meant for melee combat. She needed something sturdier, something that would allow her to keep up with the admiral and her monstrous crewmates- especially since Luffy had inadvertently melted Zoro's ice block. The first mate shouted obscenities at their captain without breaking the rhythm of his strikes, Luffy laughing and shouting right back.

It was a familiar scene, with more than a lifetime of experience behind it. Nami was so annoyed, yet happy at the same time. The feeling brought forth countless images, except for some reason, half of them showed pink and navy hair instead of black and green. Other images came too, though, and these were more applicable to the immediate threat.

"Requip: lightning empress armour!"

The spear was beautiful, though the armour wasn't quite to Nami's taste. Still, beggars can't be choosers. And lightning was as fast as light. Her fist swing slashed into the admiral's forearm, hard enough to remove his hand. He gaped in shock as blood began to flow.

"How are you doing this?"

Nami would've loved to answer, really, she would've. But she wouldn't know herself until later, when she'd had time to sort out these strange memories.

*line dance*

Usopp had never needed an order to flee. He didn't go far though- he could never leave his crewmates alone. He just didn't see what he could do. Even Nami was awakening weird powers. She was supposed to be normal, like him!

It didn't help that all the powers he was seeing were from a story he used to tell. One of Kaya's favourites had been his story of a magical world, with talking cats and wizards instead of Devil Fruits. It was something he'd gotten from a dream once, expanding upon it until he'd created a vast epic.

He never did tell Kaya that in the dream, he'd been one of the cats.

His back itched, like someone was glaring at it really hard. Usopp leapt up, narrowly avoiding a laser blast. Only, he didn't fall. Looking over his shoulder, Usopp saw a pair of fluffy, white wings.

"Huh? Where'd those come from?" Oh well, there was no chance to think about it now. And flying made a good vantage point. He could shoot into the melee now without worrying about hitting his friends, and still be a safe distance away to boot.

*line dance*

The odds were evening. Chopper watched in amazement as one by one, his friends pulled strange abilities out of nowhere. These definitely weren't Devil Fruit powers. No, the energy that crackled around them was something else. If he had to give it a name, he would call it magic. But that was impossible, as far as he knew.

Who was he kidding? They were on the Grand Line; anything was possible.

The odds were swinging into the Straw Hats' favour, but at the same time, more marines were arriving. Chopper couldn't just sit there doing nothing. But what could he do? He was a doctor; what he really needed was a way to heal the wounded fighters. Zoro in particular needed it.

"What good is a doctor who can't save his friends?" Chopper started to cry. The energy in the air around him crackled in response, burning an arcane mark into his arm. Deep, soothing breaths calmed him down. The reindeer let out a determined growl.

"If they can do it, so can I!" The mark, it was so familiar, appearing one by one with a sense of family to it. A place of acceptance after an old home was gone; memories of kin who depended on their youngest member for healing.

"Sky dragon's healing song!" Green light poured from Chopper to envelope Zoro, closing wounds and filling the shirtless swordsman with renewed energy.

*line up*

She had been called "Devil Child" for many years. Robin hated the name and what it represented. At one time it had threatened her precious friends, these pirates who had taken her in and made her want to live. They fought through that, only to be facing death again here. The government must truly hate this crew.

That thought made Robin smile. Luffy's father must be so proud.

Robin was doing her best to hold back the marine with the giant axe, but it wasn't enough. Most of the crew was focused on the admiral, so she had no backup. No matter how many hands she made, they weren't strong enough to hold back the large man who controlled the fake Kumas.

 _I want to live! Take me out to sea with you!_

 _But those words mean nothing if we all die here. I have to protect my friends, like they protected me. The others have found strength of a different sort to fight with; I can only pray I will as well._

The light came from within, starting from her left thigh. It grew with Robin's desperation. She _would_ protect this family.

"Takeover: Satan's soul!"

Wings burst forth as fingers became claws. The horns were useless, but the tail wasn't. It proved invaluable for balance, and also as a weapon. Robin remembered other battles as she fought on, dark magic bubbling rapidly in her chest.

If it saves your friends, what's the matter with being a devil?

*line of fire*

Franky wasn't feeling so super at the moment. The fake Kumas were like him, and it was proving difficult to come up with ways to combat them. At the moment, one had him in a grip stronger than steel. It was the first time since he'd become a cyborg that Franky had lost a grapple.

He was a pirate though, and pirates fought dirty. The shipwright bit down hard on the arm that was holding him. It was metal, as expected... but surprisingly tasty for that. Franky had never eaten metal before, never even entertained the idea, but it seemed to have merit. Of course, the fake Kuma apparently didn't feel pain, so it wasn't doing much...

Until it was. Franky was starting to feel a lot more super with every bite, the foreign metal layering onto his own cyborg parts. It formed a symbol on his left shoulder, a symbol that had been appearing on a lot of his crewmates in the last couple minutes. And when Kuma's arm was gone, Franky was dropped to the ground. He smirked.

"Thanks for that. I'm feeling super now. Not quite as good as cola though."

The memories came fast, but Franky was faster. After all, he was a super cyborg. He'd deal with the headache later.

"Iron dragon's roar!" A blast of shrapnel tore into the fake Kuma.

*yet another line*

Brook watched his new crewmates get their memories back and smiled. He'd known who he was since coming back as bones, part of the power of his Devil Fruit. Unfortunately, that just left him more lonely than ever. After all, he'd had two lifetimes full of companionship before he died.

Even joining the Straw Hats as they were hadn't cured it all. True, it had given him a new purpose, and closure to the pirate part of his soul, but the wizard in him was still lost. He'd wanted to see his guild again so badly, knowing it could never be. And yet, here they were, reincarnated just like him. He'd even found some of them again, and would likely find more. After all, Natsu/Luffy seemed to attract a certain kind of people.

The marines were, at this point, losing badly. However, Brook felt the need to really drive the message home. Calling upon magic he hadn't used in a lifetime, the skeleton grew to titanic proportions. His crew instinctively scattered away as he punted the admiral, axe wielder, and fake Kuma towards the horizon. Awestruck gazes met his eyes- or they would have, had he eyes to see!

"How'd you do that?" Chopper asked, eyes starry. Brook smiled.

"It's the duty of a parent to look after their children, of course. If that's what I'm doing, no force in the world can stop me."

"Alright! We won!" Luffy did a victory dance, one arm stretching upwards in the familiar Fairy Tail salute. Brook shrunk and returned the gesture. The entire crew was soon drawn into a laughing pile of relieved hugs.

But whether Straw Hat or Fairy Tail, peace of any sort could not last. Zoro smashed an icy fist down on the captain's head, causing everyone else to leap back in alarm.

"Seriously Flame-brain! Of all the people to be reincarnated as my captain, it had to be you?"

"Ice Princess!" Luffy responded with an enthusiastic kick to his first mate's face. Then the rubber man paused in concern.

"Hey, if Zoro's the Ice Princess and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates, does that mean we've gotta get married?"

Robin smiled. "I don't think it works that way."

Twin screams interrupted what was sure to turn into an epic battle for captaincy. Everyone turned to see Sanji clutching his hair while Chopper looked extremely embarrassed.

"We used to be women!" The pair exclaimed loudly. The rest of the crew just laughed.

Brook wiped away tears, ecstatic to have his family back. His feelings were soon echoed by a grin spreading over Luffy's face.

"Hey! Do you think the others came back too? Like maybe Shanks is Gildarts?"

No one else had met Shanks, so they weren't able to answer. Brook felt his non-existent heart swell with hope. "I don't know Captain, but I'm sure we'll find out."

Everyone else stared at him. Nami coughed delicately. "Um, Master, are you sure it's wise to allow _Natsu_ of all people to remain in charge?"

"Perhaps not, but he isn't just Natsu anymore, is he?" Brook felt his eye sockets twinkle. "Our past lives don't have to shape us; this is still Luffy's crew. I'm just happy we're together. Yohohohohohoho!"

*omake*

The Straw Hat Fairies Rescue Ace

"You've got to be kidding me!" Zoro skated away from the crumbling execution platform. As soon as Luffy had unlocked his brother's shackles, a wave of black magic bubbled across Marineford. Marines fell left and right, some of them dying, others simply unconscious. "The damn fleet admiral is Zeref?!"

"No, that would be me. Sorry." Ace appeared out of the decayed rubble, rubbing his head sheepishly. Then he paled. "Oh no, not again. Natsu! You have to kill me, now!"

"Why would I do that?" Luffy was the only person in the world who could be puzzled and cry at the same time. "I don't wanna kill my big brother!"

"You're the only one who can! You're E.N.D., the only one who can end my curse. If you don't kill me, the world is in great danger!"

"No! I don't wanna!"

"But I don't deserve to live!"

"Yes you do!" Luffy punched Ace in the face, hard. With fire. "And I don't wanna hear you say anything like that again!"

"But... Why?"

"Shishishi! Because you're my brother!"

"This is great and all," Zoro drawled, removing his shirt, "But we're surrounded by marines and your brother's got the whole killing aura thing going on _again_. It's not safe here."

Luffy looked around. "Right. One minute." Flames shot from both brothers, forcing open a path to the Thousand Sunny. As they ran, Luffy pulled a scarf seemingly out of nowhere and wrapped it around Ace's neck.

"Huh? What's this for?"

"Shishishi! Igneel mage it! Well, he's Raleigh now. It'll contain your curse so as long as you wear it, you won't go blewie and kill people."

Ace laughed and ruffled Luffy's hair. "Thanks Lu."

They jumped onto the ship behind Luffy's crew members, sailing away on a coup-de-burst. Once they landed, the rubber captain found a familiar sword at his neck.

"I forgot, you're E.N.D." Zoro said coldly. Luffy yelped and fled, his best friend chasing after him.

"Didn't you get enough vengeance in our last life, you crazy stripper?"

Everyone else sweatdropped. Ace looked askance at Nami, who responded before he could say a word.

"They won't actually hurt each other. It's practically tradition by now. Besides, it would get boring around here without a good brawl or two. Just as long as they don't go too far and STAY AWAY FROM MY TANGERINES!"

The last yell earned a pair of manly shrieks.


End file.
